The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 246, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1994 Page: 1 of 49
forty nine pages : ill. ; page 21 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Sports 4B
What’s Inside...
Lifestyle 1B
2?
...1-6C Police Beat,
......2A Lifestyle......
.9-12B Religion......
......3A Sports.........
...4-5A Television...
......2A Weddings..
,2A
A&E,
Sign here
Three agree
to play v-ball
Feeling young Summer flicks A
Homebound Adventure, r|
but still busy comedy on tap l •%
1B
Calendar..
Classified.
Obituaries.
Opinion....
Pick Three
PS
.5-8B
|
.4B
II!
1B
.2-3B
3
8 P
Wt>e ffiaptotott grnti
Volume 72, No. 246
Telephone Number: 422-8302
Sunday, August 14,1994
Baytown, Texas 77520
75 Cents Per Copyj
FES
Board wants
public input in
search for new
i
Teaching ‘old’ dogs new tricks
Coupk trains
dogs to serve
as companions
By JOHN MARTINEZ
The Baytown Sun
1
In an attempt to include the pub-
lic in their search for a district
superintendent, trustees have
approved the administration’s plan
to solicit citizen input through a
questionnaire and advertising cam-
paign.
The questionnaire would be
mailed to a number of organizations
and individuals in the district and
would include the following two
questions:
■ If you were given 10 minutes
with the new superintendent, what
three or four questions would you
ask regarding the direction he/she
would want for the district?
■ What three or four qualities or
characteristics do you believe the
new superintendent should possess?
, /
By JANE HOWARD
The Baytown Sun
TELEPHONE RINGS AND
“Cody” races to it, then dashes
back to lead a human being to
the source of the sound... it
sounds cute but relatively unimportant,
till you learn this dog is being trained to
become a working companion to a deaf
person.
In another training session, a trainer’s
command sends a “Kirby,” a large Bor-
der Collie, to a light switch to turn on a
light. Later still, “Smasher,” a golden
retriever, opens a refrigerator to retrieve
a lunch sack for the trainer, picks up a
set of keys she dropped and replaces
them in her lap, then helps her get out of
a jacket.
Again, these could be considered cute
tricks, until you realize just what this
' training and these “tricks” cant mean to
particular people.
It is all happening just a few miles
outside Baytown, where trainers Angie
and Jack Sumter are doing work that
gives some special dogs and special peo-
ple a second lease on life.
In a large tin building adjacent to their
country home, which lies on a Farm
Road between Old River and Dayton,
they train service dogs for a non-profit
organization called Texas Hearing and
Service Dogs.
The dogs are often other people’s
rejects—homeless strays picked up by
animal control officers or saved from
highways by animal rescue leagues. The
Sumters scour shelters for just the right
kind of animals—small, bright, enthu-
siastically-friendly dogs to be trained to
help the hearing impaired and larger,
somewhat steadier but equally friendly
animals with the potential to become
service dogs for people with physical
handicaps, especially those in wheel-
chairs.
To become a certified hearing dog, the
animals are trained to respond to sounds
that a hearing-impaired person needs to
know about—a ringing telephone,
knocks at the door and smoke alarms, to
start. The Sumters train the dogs at their
own facility for that. Once matched with
a hearing impaired person and placed in
that person’s home, the training contin-
ues.
“We make the training suit the indi-
vidual home,” said Angie. “For instance,
if there is a baby in the home, we’ll work
with the dog to have it respond to the
baby’s cries.”
A
.
m
t
\ - IP
. m
■
f
tabulated by the administration to
help trustees formulate guidelines
for hiring a new superintendent.
Although the board will make the
final selection, the hope is that feed-
back from patrons will help them
select someone who more accurate-
I;
ly represents the district
All responses are expected to be
collected by Sept. 15 to allow for
presentation to the board Oct. 10.
A related concern at the Aug. 8
board meeting dealt with conduct-
ing an in-house search for superin-
tendent. Some trustees expressed
interest in selecting a superintendent
from within the district due in part
to current budget restraints and {o
the high number of “well suited”
candidates for the position.
“At a minimum, we need to take
Mr. Wheeler’s advice, which was to
at least advertise the position,” said
Dr. Clarence Albus, board presi-
_
_
_
Photos by Carrie Pryor-Newman
Angie Sumter answers the telephone after “Cody” hears the ring and leads her to it. Cody, who bears a
terrible scar on his head from an apparent confrontation with a car, was donated to Texas Hearing and
Service Dogs by a animal rescue league in the Kingwood area and is now about halfway through his
training. See additional story on Page 1B.
dent.
Hank Wheeler of the Texas
School Board Association’s spoke
to board members july 14 board
meeting, at which he told trustees
his organization’s superintendent
search service would cost the dis-
trict more than $8,500.
He told trustees to conduct an
extensive search which would
include both an internal and exter-
nal search. He added that this would
give the district the best possible
candidate.
'll
;■£
••/.v ‘
H
- -
|
Weather
i
>
i
-nr.....
HE SAME PRINCIPLE applies
to the service dogs. They leam to ABOVE LEFT: “Smasher” helps Angie Sumter out of a jacket—just one of the many tasks a Service Dog
perform certain tasks while at can perform for a wheelchair-bound person. The golden retriever is actually one of the Sumters’ pets and
the Sumters, then are matched to works with them in demonstrations for various events. ABOVE RIGHT: After opening the refrigerator door, :
one of the applicants. After a few train-
ing sessions with the dog and his
prospective owner at the Sumter’s, the
dog is delivered to the new owner’s
home. If there are other people living in
the home, or people who come into the
home to assist the handicapped person,
the others are not allowed to touch or
even talk to the dog for at least two
weeks, so that only the client is building
a bond with the animal.
After that period, the trainer comes
into the home to work with the new
owner and his or her dog.
The Sumters have trained and placed
Smasher removes a package and will then close the door and take the package to his trainer.
can change the life of a handicapped
person. While many paraplegics can get
out in the world, drive specially-
The dogs do much more than perform equipped cars and function normally in
simple tasks for their new owners.
“They open up the world for them,'
said Angie Sumter. “Having the dog
gives them a new sense of responsibility replaces them in his owners’ hand. For
for the dog, plus gives them new inde- quadraplegics, having a dog to turn on
pendence. TTiey don’t have to wait for a lights, to go get another person, or to
person to do everything for them.”
Indeed the service dogs in particular tasks, is truly life-changing.
95 dogs since 1988. They have a very
short waiting list of clients and hope to
attract more.
A
ND, HAVING SUCH A DOG
revitalizes the client’s opportu-
nities for social interaction. ^.
Many people avoid eye contact -.
many ways, a dropped set of car keys or and conversation with people in wheel- • ;
dropped pencil can be a disaster. A ser- chairs. But let that person enter a room * '
vice dog simply picks up the item and with a service dog, complete with his •. ■'
service dog backpack, and people flock
to ask questions and pet the animal. ' ■
“Getting a dog changes their lives in ' >
perform an infinite number of other so many ways,” said Angie, “and it is so ‘>
rewarding to be a part of that.”
Saturday: Partly cloudy
with scattered evening
showers or thunderstorms.
High in the 90s. Low in the
70s.
Sunday: Partly cloudy with
a high in the 90s and a
chance for afternoon show-
t
ers.
Weather art by Melanie
Williams, Crockett Elemen-
tary.
\
T
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 246, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1994, newspaper, August 14, 1994; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1158324/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.